Forbes chief claims rivals' web use is lagging behind

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Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, has criticised
competitors for failing to rise to the challenge of the internet,
claiming his multi-platform magazine is showing the way forward.

Former
presidential candidate Forbes, who visited the UK this week to speak at
the Reuters Foundation, said rival The Economist was “well behind” in
its use of new media, and claimed that most magazines were failing to
use the internet effectively.

Forbes magazine, which has a US
circulation of 900,000 and multiple global editions, also now runs a
standalone website, radio shows and TV slots, and is planning to
develop mobile phone content.

Multi-millionaire Forbes, who took
on the family business from his father Malcolm Forbes, said he was a
subscriber to The Economist, but added: “I don’t think they are as far
along in their site as we are, and that is putting it kindly.

“One thing that all magazines and newspapers do is gather information.

How you deliver the information is not as relevant as the fact that it is something an audience wants.

“Print media are worried because they are losing ads, they are losing readers.

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They need to see the internet as a vehicle to enhance what they gather.

“Some
companies think that just putting their print content on the web is the
answer: it is not. Ninety per cent of our web content is now web-alone.”

He added that he expected ad revenues for the website to hit the same level as the magazine within three years.